


Conversations

by EsriteIatha



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Babysitting, Do we need more tags, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Harley Keener & Peter Parker Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Morgan Stark feels, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent-Child Relationship, Plus all the other movies, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Protective Harley Keener, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Peter Parker, Sibling Bonding, Team as Family, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-04-24 02:32:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19164028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsriteIatha/pseuds/EsriteIatha
Summary: Ficlets about our favorite characters from the MCU. Conversations between them, some very short, others longer. Considering that Tony Stark is my favorite, he'll be present a lot. Him and the whole Iron family! Enjoy!





	1. #1

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr under the name Thegeniusnumber!

Harley folded his long, lanky legs as he sat down next to him. Somewhere deep in his mind, it occurred to him that the grass will stain and ruin his clothes, but the lake was silent and calming, while the topic was way too serious to be preoccupied with something like this.

 

“You know, you have something not me or even Morgan will ever have,” he spoke.

 

Peter turned sharply towards him, disbelief and question clear on his face. Harley looked deep into his eyes and smiled sadly.

 

“You were there when he left. You were one of the last things he saw. This is something you should never forget.”


	2. #2

“Yes!”

 

“No!”

 

“Yes!”

 

“No!”

 

“Mom!”

 

“Morgan!”

 

The girl let out an angry hiss and stomped with her leg. Pepper sighed as she watched her daughter’s tantrum. She shouldn’t be doing this alone.

 

“Morgan, you are not dyeing your hair,” she spoke with forced patience.

 

The fourteen years old girl glared back. Her beautiful dark eyes were filled with anger.

 

“Come on! Everyone else is doing it! I just want to be blond, like you!”

 

Yes, Pepper knew that. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as her daughter started another rant about hair colors and the newest trends. She looked at the long, dark locks. They were close enough that she could reach out and touch the silky waves. These are…

 

“… the exact same color as your father’s.” she murmured, not even fully aware what slipped out of her mouth.

 

Morgan froze in place, dark eyes wide with shock and realization.

 

“Really?”

 

“Hmm?” Pepper blinked. “Yeah… Before it started graying, it was just like yours.”

 

“Oh,” Morgan too touched one of her long locks. She rubbed it between her fingers. Then without a word, only humming quietly to herself, she turned and left.

 

Watching her go, Pepper realized that maybe she wasn’t really doing it alone.


	3. #3

“Well, this is awkward,” Lila commented as she stared at the picture in front of her. Next to her, Nat was frozen in place, his features white as snow. It was comical how wide his eyes had grown. 

 

“Why do you have like a dozen of pictures of Morgan?” Lila asked waving her brother’s phone in front of him. Unfreezing, Nat lunged forward, but his sister was faster and hid the phone behind herself.

 

“I told you not to swipe!” Nat hissed.

 

A slow grin formed on Lila’s face as the realization sunk in.

 

“You are in love with the Stark girl!”

 

“No!”

 

“Cooper!”

 

“Lila! No!”

 

“Come on, Cooper! We have some matchmaking to do!”

 

“Lila!”


	4. #4

“This is ridiculous!”

 

“I thought that you’d like it!”

 

“Seriously? This?”

 

“Well, this is something you usually like, isn’t it?”

 

“Come on, Nat! How egoistic do you think I am?”

 

“Very?”

 

“Now, you hurt my feelings!”

 

“A painting on a wall honoring your act in saving the world hurts your feelings?”

 

“No! Are you even listening to me? You hurt my feelings! This … this is just ridiculous, megalomaniac… something! I’m taking it down!”

 

She sighed. “Tony…”

 

“What?”

 

“You forget something!”

 

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What?”

 

“You are dead. There is literally nothing you can do.” Then her eyes lit up. “Wait! Scratch that! You can suffer in silence!”


	5. #5

The car came to a halt when the lake-house came into view. The boy clenched his fingers tightly around the steering wheel. He could see movement inside the house, through the window. They had been noticed.

 

“Stay in the car for now,” he told his sister.

 

The girl fiddled with the seatbelt but nodded. She hadn’t said a word ever since… that day.

 

“I’ll be back!” he promised and got out of the car. He was so nervous, he could barely walk. He was here to ask for a huge favor after all. This man had given him so much already. Every year something amazing for his and his sister’s birthday. They had exchanged numerous emails, discussing new ideas, difficult homework, or just stories about ordinary life. But this? This was huge.

 

Someone stepped out of the house and hesitated for a second on the porch. It was him. He looked different though. A lot thinner, almost skinny under the baggy clothes. He had gray lines in his hair, which was slightly longer than how he had remembered it being. And his eyes, even more haunted than before.

 

The man walked up to him and only stopped feet or two away from him.

 

“Hey, Mechanic!” the boy greeted with a hesitant smile.

 

“Harley,” it was silent, like a sigh. The man’s face was unreadable.

 

“I…” the boy started. He had plans. Several of them. He had tried to envision every possible scenario. In his head, all of them ended with devastating failure. His eyes slipped to the grass between them. He still had to try. They had no other option. “Our Mom… she is gone, and we have no one else and they were rounding up the orphans and…”

 

There were arms around him suddenly. A hard chest pressing against his, while his face ended up buried in a shoulder. Tension drained out of him. Their journey ever since that day had been long and stressful, the goal impossible. Now though…

 

Stark pulled away, looked deep into his eyes. His hand held the back of Harley’s neck protectively. “Come inside. Both of you! You look like you could eat.”

 

The boy didn’t have to be a man at least for now.  


	6. #6

“Absolutely not!”

 

“Absolutely yes!”

 

“You are crazy! Just like your idea!”

 

“You are crazy!”

 

“I am older, therefore I decide!”

 

“That’s bullshit and you know it!”

 

“Language!”

 

“Seriously? Come on! Like … seriously?”

 

“Peter! We are not doing the thing!”

 

“Harley! We absolutely have to do the thing!”

 

Harley held up a hand and frowned. “Wait! Where is Morgan?”

 

The alarms started blaring indicating that Morgan had already done the thing. 


	7. #7

Steve needed an adult who could adult better than him in that situation. Someone way better in adulting than him. He looked around nervously. Nope, no adult in sight. Just him. He glanced down at the reason behind his suddenly lost capabilities in adulting. Morgan Stark sat on top of the table, there was a huge box of ice cream between her tiny legs. Her small hand hovered over it not threateningly, but… Oh, scratch that… it was threatening. Her huge dark eyes sparkled with mischief as she stared at him unblinkingly. Seriously, how could Steve adult in this situation?

 

“Morgan…” he started hesitantly.

 

“Pwease?”

 

See? That is the problem! This baby menace knows how to pronounce disintegrate! There is no way she could pronounce please wrong!

 

A sudden idea occurred to Steve and he almost grinned.

 

“What would your Mom say?”

 

Ha! Adulting!

 

“She is not here!” Morgan smiled sweetly. “What do you say?”

 

Damn. He seriously needed an adult. Whose bright idea was it to task him with the impossible job of babysitting? Oh, yeah… he had walked into Sam’s trap.

 

“I bet that you can’t do it!” he had said. So, yeah… he had walked straight into that one.

 

Sighing, he addressed the AI that he knew was lurking around in the lake house too. “FRIDAY, please get me an adult!”

 

“You are the adult, Sir!”

 

“Pwease?” the baby Shark… khm… Stark added.

 

Steve could hear somewhere another Shark’s…. khm… Stark’s hysterical laugh faintly…


	8. #8

“Dad! Can I have a dog?”

 

Howard Stark raised his cold eyes at the child, who stood in the middle of the study. A boy with baby brown eyes. Howard frowned. In their world soft man fell.

 

“You don’t have time for a dog,” he said simply and turned back to the blueprints that were laid out in front of him. He didn’t see how the child’s hopeful eyes darkened, their light dimmed.

 

“But…”

 

“No, buts! Go and make yourself useful. If you can’t create something, than study!”

 

Jarvis stepped into the study and gently ushered the kid out of the room. The child went without a sound. He only muttered a soft “Goodbye, Jarvis,” when they reached his own quarters. The door closed behind him and the child stared at the mess inside. Tools, parts, wires, screws and the list went on. He cocked his head to the side.

 

“Create something.”

 

Of course, he could create something. He was always creating something.

 

He worked. He always had a nearly non-existent grasp on time and the house was always to busy to remind him of it. Except for Jarvis. Jarvis made sure.  But this time Jarvis accompanied his father… somewhere, so he was left unsupervised for days.

 

In the end, when he pushed the right button and his creation came to life, he had a fully functioning robot in his room. It was small, barely more than a flat cylinder on wheels.  

 

And no one knew about it.

 

“You need a name.” He mumbled as he tightened a loose screw.

 

The robot bleeped.

 

The child cocked his head to the side and frowned. It shouldn’t bleep, except when it needed to indicate the end of a task.

 

“You shouldn’t do that. Maybe I messed up somewhere?” he mused aloud.

 

The robot bleeped again, but this time, despite knowing it was impossible, for the child it sounded a lot sadder than before.

 

“Come again?” he blinked.

 

Bleep. Bleep. Bleep.

 

The child stared. Then he hesitantly tried. “Bleep?”

 

Bleep. Bleep.

 

The boy laughed with delight. The implication of what had occurred, what had he accidentally created was still out of his grasp, but the pressure that had been on his sternum for the last couple of days had finally disappeared.

 

Bleep. Bleep. Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

 

The robot shrieked and started circling around the child. An uncontrollable giggle tore its way out of the child’s throat.

 

“You are so dumb! Wait… I know! I’ll call you Dum-E!”

 

Bleep!  

 

Years later, when the child was a teenager and he decided to redesign his little, dumb friend, together they won the MIT robot design award.


	9. #9

Tony stared at the message on the hologram in front of him. Ever since the so-called Civil War, he had to change his phone number to avoid all the hate pouring through the channels, so reaching him that way was impossible. Maybe that’s why this message appeared between two of his official emails.

_Can you visit me at the Homestead? Just talk, promise!_

_Clint_

 

Tony sighed and closed his eyes.   _The Futurist, Gentlemen! The Futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what’s best for you whether you like it or not._ His eyes snapped open, the words ringing in his ears mercilessly. Just talk? What could they talk about?

 

“FRIDAY! How sure are we that it’s from him?” he asked as he leaned away from the hologram. It felt like the letters were screaming at him.

 

“99,97%, Boss!” the AI replied wearily. She was still mad at the Rouge Avengers. She made sure that he knows that. Daily.

 

Tony sighed again and rubbed his face. One more glance at the words.

 

“Prepare a heli for me to Missouri,” he ordered.

 

“Are you sure about that, Boss?”

 

“No. But still. I have no better idea.”  

 

Because of the house arrest, he had to clear it with the FBI and had to sign three forms confirming that he wasn’t planning on breaking Barton out of there during his visit. He had one very annoying phone call from Ross, but finally, he was flying towards the farm in his private helicopter, piloted by FRIDAY.

 

“ETA is four minutes, Boss!” the AI warned him. She still sounded annoyed with him. Well, that’s life!

 

“Find a place to land further away from the house and do not destroy anything in the process!” he warned. She stayed awfully quiet after that. Despite that, they landed safely, not even a patch of grass was destroyed during the process. 

 

The Barton farm looked peaceful. Or deserted.

 

“Boss, the suit is at standby!” FRIDAY stated, her tone didn’ leave room for argument. So, Tony didn’t argue, just stepped out of the helicopter and started walking towards the house. As he neared it, he heard a new sound. A deep rumbling noise of an engine. It came from behind the house. Tony followed the sound curiously while he absentmindedly noted that the Barton family (probably the kids) were still as messy as he remembered. There were toys thrown around basically everywhere. Old and new, broken and whole. Few times Tony barely managed to avoid stepping on one of them.

 

Finally, he stepped around the house and found himself face to face to an oddly domestic scene. Clint Barton was mowing his lawn. He had one of those old mowers with wires and handles and it had to be actually pushed. Ancient! Tony thought with a frown.

 

“I could get you one which would do all the work itself.” He commented after a few moments of watching his former teammate work.

 

Clint stilled, his fingers let go of the handle and the lawnmower shut down. Hawkeye ran a hand over his forehead, getting rid of dirt and sweat, then he laughed goodheartedly.

 

“It is actually quite relaxing. Nothing complicated about it. Second, I think Laura would have my head if I find a way around housework again.”

 

Tony hummed as a reply. They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment or two. They hadn’t been like that before. After Bruce, Clint had been the one Tony could talk the easiest from all the other Avengers. However, way too many things happened after that.

 

“Coffee?” Clint offered hesitantly. Wow. New again. Barton wasn’t famous for being hesitant.

 

“Did I ever say no to coffee?” Tony raised an eyebrow. Clint smirked and moved to lead the way into the house. This exchange. It was familiar, while nothing else was. Tony’s eyes slipped to the tracking device on Clint’s ankle. The uncomfortable feeling on his sternum that had been present ever since their fallout just got worse. Like it usually did when he saw a reminder of their wrongdoings.

 

“The kids?” he asked as they stepped into the kitchen. Clint busied himself with the coffee maker.

 

“Shopping. Cooper is going through another growth spurt. Naturally, if he gets something new, then the others must too. Otherwise, all hell breaks loose.” The coffeemaker let out a gurgling sound as it came to life. Tony winced. The Bartons needed another one of those too.

 

“Hey! Take a seat! I won’t start throwing things at you, I promise!” Clint grinned, but Tony noted it wasn’t his old, usual, full of mischief grin. It was hesitant too. Embarrassed, uncomfortable. Tony hated it.

 

He walked to the dining room table and sat down on to the chair which he had used when they were hiding here after setting Ultron loose on the world. He watched as Clint got a mug out of the cupboard, filled it with the newly made black liquid and placed it down onto the table in front of him.

 

“Thanks!” he mumbled and pulled the mug closer to him.

 

When he looked up again, Clint was already sitting on the counter, watching him with a frown.

 

“Your left arm is still hurting.” the assassin commented.

 

Tony glanced down at himself. He had reached for the mug with his right, while it would have been easier with his left. Something that he had gotten used to during the last six months. The last break didn’t cause nerve damage perse, but using his fingers of his left hand was still painful. According to his doctor, it would get better with the right exercises. He just needed time and take it easy for a while.

 

“Not that bad,” he said to Barton.

 

“It’s always your left arm. One day it will say fuck you and walk out on you!” Clint stated. He sounded totally serious too.

 

“You do know that’s technically impossible, right?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

 

“Lot’s of things about you should be technically impossible!” Clint muttered. The assassin reached for the pot and drank coffee straight out of it. That scene was achingly familiar. It brought back memories of those times when the six of them spent time together in the Stark Tower.

 

Sighing Tony looked straight into the assassin’s eyes. “You wanted to talk to me about something?”

 

“I screwed up.” There was no hesitation in Barton’s voice, expression or posture as the words left his mouth. He held Tony’s gaze with an inner strength that Tony always envied.

 

Stark opened his mouth to say something, but Barton silenced him with a wave of his hand.

 

“I screwed up and didn’t even notice it till a very smart woman screamed my head off and banished me to the couch.”

 

“I always said that Laura was the smart one!” Tony couldn’t help but comment.

 

Clint smiled, but then his expression turned serious again.

 

“We were friends. Then we didn’t talk. Then we did idiotic things.” Clint summarized their fall out. “I should have at least asked you about your side of the story.”

 

“You were looking out for Wanda.” Tony tried.

 

“So were you. In conclusion. I am sorry. I know it’s not as easy as I want it to be and one word wouldn’t make things right, at least for now, but I want you to know that I am honestly sorry. And that you are always welcome here.”

 

Tony was taken aback. This was something he hadn’t expected when he had gotten off his helicopter before. Clint’s words from the Raft and from this conversation danced around in his mind. What should he do with this information?

 

“I miss our shenanigans.” He didn’t mean to say that. However, this sentence was the one that won the crazy race in his brain. And he agreed with it honestly.

 

“Me too.” Clint grinned. He hopped off the counter and Tony saw a glance he shot at his own ankle. The heavy feeling was back.

 

“I know that you had a really big part in my deal with the FBI. An I am thankful for it,” Barton spoke. He really sounded thankful. Tony just nodded. What could he say to that? He drank the coffee and put the mug down gently onto the table.

 

“I should go now,” he said. Emotions were swirling around his heart like crazed snakes. He needed time to reevaluate.

 

Clint accompanied him to the helicopter. He stopped out of the range of the rotors and watched as Tony got in.

 

“One more thing, Tony!” He called after him.

 

The billionaire stopped and looked back with question clear on his face.

 

“You warned us about an army. An endgame. If it comes. Call me. I’ll be there. Whatever it takes.”

 

Tony froze. Images swirled in his mind. One after the other. Quicker than the speed of light.

 

“No you won’t,” he said. He saw the stunned expression and the hurt on Barton’s face. “You won’t be. Because of Laura and the kids.”

 

He stepped off the helicopter and walked back to stand in front of the assassin. The two of them stared at each other. Understanding and determination meeting halfway.

 

“This is the only thing I want you to promise me,” Tony spoke. Voice deep and quiet with the seriousness of the situation. “If you risk this one more time, I blast you to oblivion. Do you understand? Whatever happens, you stay out of it!”

 

“Duly noted.”


	10. #10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey vs Rogers

Steve Rogers stormed through the Tower, the endorphin and energy from his morning run cruising through his veins. All he needed was a copious amount of breakfast and coffee and he would be ready for the day.

 

However, his lucky start came to halt with him as he entered the kitchen. By no other than the owner of the Tower. Of course, it was always Stark.

 

The billionaire was sleeping on the top of the fricking dining table of all places.

 

Steve felt… inconvenienced.

 

He opened his mouth to arrange his opinion into sentences when a stern, whispering voice stopped him.

 

“If you wake him, I’ll murder you in cold blood.”

 

He snapped his head towards the source of the voice and blinked at the man in front of him. The dark skinned man slipped off the stool he had been occupying beforehand and stepped between Steve and the sleeping genius. The way, how the guy held himself screamed military backgrounds. Steve had spent all his life wanting to be in the military, then being in the military. Respect came easy when faced with another fellow soldier.

 

“I am Captain Steve Rogers.” He introduced himself. He kept his voice low, the threat still present between the pair.

 

There was a twitch on the man’s face at the mention of his rank. Like it pushed all the wrong buttons.

 

“I see. Than, Colonel James Rhodes.”

 

Steve had gotten used to being the leader, the highest in rank. Yeah, he had superiors in his days in the military, but after the serum, he had been allowed to lead. The Colonel’s posture said a different set of mind.

 

“So, as I said, Captain, if you wake him up, I’ll murder you in cold blood. Understood?” the Colonel asked.

 

Steve had questions, objections. However, that part of his brain which kept ‘awaiting order’ on repeat in his mind flared up. His mouth was speaking way before the rest of his brain could catch up.

 

“Understood, Sir!”


	11. #11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fury was someone who knew everything, now he doesn't know anything.

He turns to dust. The next moment he is standing on the sidewalk staring at a woman who drops her grocery bags, while her red lips form a shocked "o". 

 

"Fury..." 

 

He turns and stares at Maria Hill. She looks confused and scared just like how she looked when she turned to dust in front of him. He steps forward and hugs her without thinking. Because he had known everything and now he doesn't know shit and he has seen Maria Hill die right in front of him. She returns the hug, both of them allowing themselves to be comforted by the other only for a minute. 

 

Then they break apart, jump into action without another word. They help people up from the ground, lead crying children to supposed safety. He doesn't have his connection to Danvers anymore. 

 

Then he steals a phone. 

 

He dials number after number. 

 

He calls Romanoff, Barton, Coulson, Stark even Potts. 

 

Hours pass and finally Rogers answers.

 

"Fury." the Captain breaths into the line. 

 

"Report, Rogers!" he orders. 

 

"We defeated Thanos," Steve says. "We brought everyone back." he doesn't sound happy though. Blank instead. "We said whatever it takes." 

 

There is a waver. Captain America sniffs. 

 

Fury grips the phone tighter. Braces himself. Tries to at least. 

 

"What did it take?" he asks. 

 

Silence. 

 

"Natasha and Tony," Steve whispers. 

 

Fury ends the call. 

 

_"Nothing lasts forever."_

_"Trouble, Ms. Romanoff. No matter who wins or loses, trouble still comes around."_

_"There was an idea ... The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to fight the battles we never could."  
_

_“I’m just an old man... who cares very much about you.”_

The phone hits the wall and smashes into a million places. 


End file.
